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The main dining room of Press in St. Helena. Photo: The Chronicle/Kim Komenich

For the last 10 years, Trevor Kunk has been working with Dan Barber at Blue Hill New York, spending the last seven as his chef de cuisine. Blue Hill’s stellar reputation speaks for itself, and Kunk also worked extensively with the restaurant’s Blue Hill Farm and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Now, Kunk is running the kitchen at Press in St. Helena.

Kunk started this week at Press, and you can expect the menu to slowly evolve as he familiarizes himself with the systems; here is a recent menu. As should be expected, he’s working closely with local farmers and ranchers, most notably the farms connected directly to Press (and its sister Oakville Grocery): Rudd Farms and the Chef’s Garden at Edge Hill.

In fact, Kunk was working closely with Press’ farmer even before he arrived in Napa Valley. When he took the gig, he sent a note to Rudd Farms’ Omar Morgan, with a list of 60+ things he wanted to plant. Morgan responded instantly, telling Kunk that some of the produce was already growing, others were already in the works, and the search was on for the last fraction.

Along with GM Spencer Weiss, who started last year, there’s a sense of new blood at Press, though the restaurant is staying the course.